International Collaboration | National Theater Company of Korea

NTCK works with international artists and theatres who share their artistic passion and love of theater with the global community, in order to challenge and stimulate the Korean theater. NTCK hopes to be an international center for theater where various exciting collaborations and co-productions are created and attract international acclaim.

· Woyzeck

ByGeorg Büchner
Translated byChoi Byung-jun
Directed byTadeusz Bradecki
Produced byNTCK

Woyzeck—a posthumous work of the controversial German dramatist Georg Büchner—caused a stir as the first play to feature a proletariat protagonist. Directed by the internationally renowned Polish theater director Tadeusz Bradecki, and produced by NTCK, the play was staged at Daehakro Arts Theater Main Hall in Seoul.

Since its premiere in 1913, the play has been performed all over the world, retaining its contemporaneity and probing into the meaning of humanity amidst the absurdities of life for over a century. Director Bradecki, who had previously served as the Artistic Director of National Stary Theatre in Poland, teamed up with his long-term collaborator Jagna Janicka (scenographer and costume designer) as well as such accomplished Korean actors as Seo Sang Won, Seo Joo-hee, and Lee Ho Jae to present Woyzeck with a more powerful and provocative edge.

· Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech

ByToshiki Okada
Directed byToshiki Okada
Produced byChelfitsch (Japan), HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Germany)

As a collaborative project between Festival B:om and NTCK, Chelfitsch’s Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech—the extended version of the successful 2004 production Air Conditioner—was invited to Korea. Japanese theater company Chelfitsch receives much attention for its ingenious ideas and unique stage grammar. Air Conditioner (2004) presented a conversation between two co-workers through curious gestures; one critic claimed, “Not only does it integrate dance and theater, but it also transcends both genres by thoroughly exploring their potential schemes.” In 2009, Chelfitsch produced Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech by extending the characters, settings and time frame of the original work. Its premiere run at the Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) in Berlin was followed by an international tour, which garnered praises worldwide. Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech is a triptych consisting of three 20-minute episodes, in which the bleak reality facing temporary workers is conveyed through dance sequences and facial expressions—in sharp contrast to their situations. Paradoxically, the embodiment of the absurd reality achieves maximum impact.